Research Interests
Physics
Foundational aspects of Quantum Physics
Quantum Chaos, Quantum to Classical transition and out of time ordered correlators
Quantum Entanglement and other non-classical correlations
Quantum Information, Computation and Quantum Simulations
Non linear dynamics and Chaos
Evolution and Complex systems
Evolution of diversity, theory of adaptive speciation
Life processes and the optimality of evolution
Evolution of cooperation, game theory
Cultural evolution, cultural diversification and evolution of religion
Harnessing the power of the quantum world for information processing is a key for mankind to enter a new information age. My research work focusses on using quantum information theory to understand the fundamental limits of information processing in the quantum world. Furthermore, I also work on using quantum information theory to unravel the workings of our universe at the quantum level.
Quantum information is the information encoded in quantum states. Quantum information, quantified suitably as entanglement and other measures of correlations between quantum sub-systems, provides vital clues to the superior information processing capabilities of devices based on quantum mechanics.
My research has elucidated and quantified the role of these quantum correlations in quantum communication protocols. In addition, my work has identified the first concrete physical process where these quantum correlations, as quantified by quantum discord, prove to be an essential resource.
I study how to manipulate and use quantum information for the purpose of quantum communication/cryptography, quantum computation and quantum parameter estimation in order to make them more efficient than their classical counterparts. I have used the power of quantum correlations to develop schemes to estimate unknown parameters to a greater accuracy than classical methods.
Quantum information theory has a deeper message for us. How physical systems process and exchange information is crucial to gaining insights into the workings of our universe. For example, the connections between entropy, information and thermodynamics form the cornerstone of statistical mechanics. Study of quantum information sheds light on the very foundations of quantum theory. For example, it has helped us address the question of characterising chaos in quantum systems.
The second area of my research is to use the concepts from physics to understand the origin of species. How new species appear in same geographical location has been a fundamental question in ecology and evolution.
I use non linear dynamics and non equilibrium statistical physics in tandem with concepts from evolutionary biology to address these questions. My research has demonstrated, for the first time, how biological speciation can occur for systems even without reaching convergence stability in the course of evolution.